Strange Imprints: Liberty for Wolves
by XlaraC
Summary: In the coldest winter on record, a lone wolf remains in the forest, frozen. When Edward stumbles across her, he will discover not only his mate, but a secret he and his family could only have dreamed of.
1. The Suffering

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. I also took some ideas for this story from the book Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.**_

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part One: The Cold**

**Chapter One: The Suffering**

'_**Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_When all the evidence is pointing towards them, who will believe that the wolves are innocent? That, maybe, a wolf in sheep's clothing is just a sheep, and you shouldn't look too hard for something that isn't there? Nobody; nobody at all._

_**LFW**_

_**bella:**_

_it was the coldest winter i'd ever suffered through. the snow and ice tore into my paws, causing vibrations to run over my body as i tried to get warm. but it was so, so cold._

_in my free time, i longed for my human form. i wished that i could find enough warmth in this frozen forest to return to my comfortable home, to lounge in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate, listening to the sounds of my family laughing and talking around me._

_none of them had to face this curse as i did. none of them invited me in when the cold came. none of them cared enough to._

_**LFW**_

_**Edward **_

Running was a favourite past time of mine; it allowed me to escape the minds of the humans, and my family – if only for just an hour or two. Being around couple all of the time got old, especially when you can hear all of their thoughts; especially when you've been alone for a century.

The trees looked beautiful this time of year; the way the snow hung off the leaves, the icicles reaching down towards the forest path, almost beckoning to those. As always, though, the meadow was the best part of the forest.

I slowed as I emerged from the forest line into the place I had found many decades ago; the place I kept returning to when I needed the solitude. The snow here was untouched – no doubt the animals had sensed that a monster like me was a frequent visitor of this place.

The weather reports this year had all been saying the same thing: coldest winter on record. I could definitely feel the chill in the air, though it didn't affect me as it did the humans. Even though I loathed the cold when I was human – who truly likes the freezing weather, but for the beauty of the ice and snow? – I wish I could feel it now. Anything would be a break from the emptiness I feel.

As if somebody had heard my inner thoughts, a low whine came from the forest behind me. It was a heartbreaking sound – and though I knew it was just an animal – a crushing feeling came over me.

It was like a vice; warmth surrounded my heart, squeezing it, pulling it. It seemed to be leading me somewhere, almost pleading for me to give in, to find what I needed. I'd heard this peculiar sensation described before, even felt it through the thoughts of my brother and sister as they had found each other.

The mating bond.

Just as the warmth had, happiness spread through me as I realized what the pull meant; just beyond the treeline was my mate. The one I had been waiting a century for.

For a moment I basked in my new found joy, letting the warmth spread to my fingertips, relieving me of the slight chill I had felt. Then I remembered the low whine that had starting this feeling; my mate was in trouble, or worse – in pain.

I'd never moved so fast in my life, of that I was positive. In mere seconds I was around the trees, staring into the warm, brown eyes of my mate. Although, I can't say it was what I was expecting…

The eyes did not pierce me from the eyes of a human; instead, dark blonde fur lined the eyes, brushing down into a small, fine-lined face. The fur continued; over the shoulders, down the back… it stuck up in odd ways, like ice…

Two things came to me in that moment; the first, that my mate was frozen. And the second, that said mate was a wolf.

I moved again, closer to her; reaching out, I left my hand to hover in the air uncertainly. Would she be scared? Would she shy away from me, run, as she should?

As I worried, something smoothed against my palm; she had leaned into me, closing her eyes as she nuzzled in, as if trying to seek warmth. It broke my heart all over again as I realized that she would get no warmth from me. She didn't shy away from my cold temperature, though.

I'd heard of this from the others; the mating bond, the imprint, was felt by the other part, vampire or not. Esme had said she had felt safe with Carlisle, connected to him, when they had first met when she was sixteen and very human. She had later confessed that she had felt like something was missing the ten years they spent apart after that, before he had found her again, dying, and changed her.

My mate could feel our connection; my mate was not afraid.

I couldn't help but smile, even despite the situation. "Come on, sweetheart," I murmured softly, causing her to open her eyes again. "I'll take you home; we need to get you warm."

At my last word, her ears perked up, and she turned towards me, almost eager. She understood what I had said. I had no time to ponder over this peculiarity, though; like I said, she needed to get her someplace warm.

I smiled again, leaning over and pulling her closer to me. As I gathered her in my arms, I felt a great shiver run through her, causing me to wince. "I know, sweetheart; don't worry, I'll get you warm soon."

And before she could react in anyway, I sped off towards the house, needing to end her suffering.

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note: **__First things first, if any of you thought that Bella's part at the beginning (where it wasn't grammatically correct) was annoying, I apologize, but I purposely wrote it like that. It is staying that way; I will not be editing it to fix the grammar errors. Also, the paragraph before Bella's is almost like a journal entry of Bella's. It will become clearer as the story progresses._

_Now, onto bigger and brighter things:_

_This is, indeed, a new _Strange Imprints_ story. Aren't you happy? I hope you are. I'm just glad I finally have a story up that I have even the slightest hope of finishing. I have a pretty basic idea of what needs to happen in this story, and where it is going to go, however I have not solidified my idea of the major conflict. If you have any ideas that you are willing to pass on to me, please do so; it would help me finish the story much quicker. But don't just limit yourself to conflicts; if you have any ideas at all for this story – or for other stories you'd like to see me write, even – send me a message or leave your idea in the reviews._

_Review, please, and remember me!_


	2. The Thaw

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part One: The Cold**

**Chapter Two: The Thaw**

'_**Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_Life is difficult when you're always running; no matter how hard you fight to keep a secret silent, it always escapes into the ears of strangers. And those strangers don't love you; for your secret, those strangers will hunt you, beat you… kill you. Or, at least they'll try._

_**LFW**_

_**bella:**_

_he was strange, this man. he was so cold, and hard, and fast, and strong… he wasn't normal. almost like how i'm not normal, but different, too. he promised me warmth, and in this endless cold, how could i deny myself this chance? when even my family – the family i loved still, despite their betrayal – would deny me entrance into the warmth, how could he possibly give it to me?_

_what made him so special to me?_

_**LFW**_

_**Edward**_

The minds of my family were confused; I could see flashes of a conversation, and I realized that Alice had seen this and told them what was coming. I don't think she fully understood what had occurred, though; she just thought I had found a wolf in the woods and decided to play nice instead of eating it. I smirked briefly, feeling vaguely triumphant at how I had finally gotten something past her sight without her fully comprehending what I was doing. But I was more focused on the beauty in my arms.

I didn't look at them as I ran into the house; I headed straight for the couch, grabbing the blanket off the back of it and wrapping my mate up in it. I settled her down into the soft, warm cushions, and then turned on the heater on the wall beside it.

I continued ignoring them as I settled down beside her, watching desperately as her cold body reacted to the new found warmth. She was shivering violently as the major difference in temperature registered. I could only watch her in silence as she warmed up, longing to touch her but knowing my cold skin would not help.

It was only when her shivers began to die down, the ice from her fur melting onto the sofa – though, to Esme's credit, she wasn't worried about it at all – that my family began talking.

"So…" Emmett began; it figured he would be the first to break to silence. "You brought home a snack. Nice."

I couldn't help but growl lightly. "We will _not_ be eating her."

He held his hands up in front of him in a placating gesture. "Okay, okay; whatever you say, bro."

They stood still for a moment longer, and I could hear them deliberating what to say. Carlisle, of course, was the next to step forward after giving some thought to the confusing – to them – matter.

"What is the meaning of this, Edward?" he asked, motioning towards my beauty, who was now no longer shaking, but instead seemed to be trying to make her way closer to me. The sight warmed my heart.

I paused before answering, realizing that there was no 'easy' way to say this. I had to go with the straight truth. "She's my mate, Carlisle; my imprint. I had to bring her home."

They were frozen, just as they were frozen in time. The shock seemed to clear their minds, leaving them unable to process the news I had just delivered to them until it wore off. I had to admit, if I was in their places, I would be shocked, too.

_Oh, Edward_, Esme's mind called out to me in this endless moment. _He's been alone too long…_

"I'm not making it up," I half-snarled. "She's my mate."

"But how can she be, son; she is... well…"

"Nothing but a dog," Rosalie growled, glaring at my perfect creature. As I had seen them all do for their mates before, the instinct to protect and defend my mate kicked in.

I stood up in my blonde sister's face, getting as close to her as I dared. I could see from her thoughts that my eyes were black with anger. "She is not a _dog_, Rose," I said calmly, darkly. "She is my mate, and you'd do well to respect that."

She didn't say anything, just continued to glare. I would have stood there all night until she backed down, but Alice's quiet question managed to catch my attention.

"You're being real about this, aren't you?"

I turned towards her, searching her eyes and mind for anything negative. I couldn't find any, just curiosity and wonder. I sighed, relaxing. "Yes, I am." I turned back towards the couch, smiling slightly as I realized that my wolf beauty had sat up a bit, and was now laying down with her head up, looking at me with the deepest brown eyes I had ever seen, human or not. "She's my mate, Alice," I stated just for her, knowing how close she was to believing me.

I saw from the corner of my eye as my littlest sister turned as well, her eyes looking over my mate. Her mind paused on my wolf's eyes; _she looks at him as if she loves him…_ It was just a fleeting thought, preposterous – because though she was my imprint, she wasn't human, she couldn't love as we could, not that that would stop me loving her – but it was enough for Alice. "I believe you, Edward; it's obvious she feels this connection, too. No other wild animal would trust one of us to take care of them."

"Thank you," I whispered, almost giving in to the longing to hug her for her belief, but Jasper interrupted any thought of it.

"If Alice believes you, then so do I." He half-smiled. "Congratulations, little brother. Even if the package is a little… unexpected. Besides, your feelings are pure, untainted; true."

I smiled and nodded; as soon as they heard Jasper's thoughts on the matter, my parents joined in. Emmett was soon to follow. It seemed that all of my family had accepted my beautiful wolf for what she was – my mate – except…

"Can't you just accept this, Rosalie?" I asked her, taking a step towards her. "Please, Rose."

She looked into my eyes, and I tried to give her time to think without my prying into her every thought. A moment later, she spoke. "You truly care of her, then?" Her voice held a hint of disgust, but I knew she was comparing her to the werewolves we detested so much from the nearby reservation.

"I truly do," I answered honestly, reaching forward for the first time and brushing my hair through the soft, but dirty, fur of my wolf. She let out a contented sigh, pushing her head closer to my hand. Even Rosalie couldn't help but smile.

My blonde sister stepped forward, beside me, and held out her hand until it was just in front of the wolf's face. She glanced at the hand, before gently licking it. My sister's smile grew, and I knew she was hooked. "Welcome to the family, puppy," she murmured.

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note: **__Does anybody else think it feels like I was trying too hard with this chapter? If you agree with me there, I must apologize. I'm still getting back into the swing of things, but I'm trying my best. Also, let's face it; not _Strange Imprints_ story will ever go as smoothly as _Play the Fox_ did. _Fox_ is my masterpiece, and always will be._

_If enough people are interested, I will be putting a poll up on my page about whether or not you would like to see me write a _Before the Imprint_ story for this. Want to know more about wolf-Bella? Just take the poll!_

_Review, please, and remember me._


	3. The Wondering

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part One: The Cold**

**Chapter Three: The Wondering**

'_**Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_A family's love is supposed to be unconditional. But what happens when a wolf is introduced? When a monster lives in your house, just down the hall from you? Even if that monster was your daughter, the love will fade. Nobody can love a monster; nobody can love a wolf. They're too vicious, too untrustworthy. They'll always turn on you, in the end. So instead of loving it, you work to exterminate it – well, you stop taking care of it, anyway._

_**LFW**_

_**bella: **_

_it was warm in this house, but not warm enough. my skin was still fur, and my instincts ran deep through my blood. it was my instincts that scared my family into hating me, i remember. it worried me that this man, my saviour from the endless cold, might realize that i wasn't a thing to be loved as he was loving me. i didn't understand what he meant when he spoke of things like 'mates' and 'imprints', but though i knew it would be better for him to push me back into the forest, i didn't want him to._

_maybe he'll know better, though; maybe he'll be like my family, in the end._

_**LFW**_

_**Edward**_

It was turning out to be the best winter – the best time – of my life. With my mate by my side, I found that the seemingly endless days flew by. They began to be separated in a way that they'd never been before, save for when I was human; by sleep. Now that my mate was warm – and far away from the terrifying cold – she slept peacefully, with little interruptions. Sometimes she would wake up in a fright, looking fearfully towards the window or door to the world outside, as if worried that she would somehow find herself out there again. A few times, I caught myself thinking she could understand me as I promised her over and over that I would never abandon her to the harsh winter.

But she wasn't human, or even close to human; how could she possibly understand me?

"I just don't understand," my family members would mutter sometimes. Nobody did. How could a vampire – a normal, run-of-the-mill vampire with nothing but a talent for mind reading to set him apart from the rest of our species – imprint on a creature so different. And it wasn't just her differences that truly confused them, and me. It was also that she was a wolf. For centuries, our species had spoken ill of the wild, dangerous creature that had ripped apart so many of our kind in the past. Well, it wasn't normal wolves; it was werewolves, children of the moon, but the hatred had spread to the entire wolven species. Why wouldn't it, when they'd given us no reason to care for them?

"Now I have a reason," I mumbled out loud, staring with adoration at my perfect mate. My family – those that were in the room with me – looked up at my seemingly random outburst.

"Now you're talking to yourself, are you?" Emmett asked amusedly; he'd been playing a game of chess with Jasper, and I could sense from my war-torn brother's thoughts that he was nothing but purely amused. It was one of the reasons I got along so well with Emmett, no matter his choice of mate.

I smirked at him. "Perhaps I was answering somebody's thoughts, Emmett. Or have you forgotten that I can read minds already?" He merely rolled his eyes.

Alice came skipping into the room, seating herself on the other side of my mate on the couch. She absentmindedly began running her hands through the tangled fur on the wolf's back. "We really need to give Puppy a bath, or at least brush her fur out."

Ever since Rosalie had used the term to address her, my mate had been dubbed 'Puppy'. She didn't have a reaction to it (but, really, she was a wolf, so that was expected) so it had stuck. In any case, it seemed wrong to truly pick out a name for my mate. Well, and didn't they have names already in their odd language of yips, howls and whines? I'm sure they did – she did. It would seem rude to call her anything but that, so 'Puppy' would have to do.

I sighed; my sister was so interested in outward appearances. "I told you already, Alice; I don't know how she'll react to being put in water. I _did_ just rescue her from a snow storm, you know," I pointed out.

"Well, yes," she rolled her eyes, much like Emmett had only moments ago. "Maybe the hot water will be good for her though; help her get even warmer. She still seems a little off." She motioned towards one of Puppy's back legs, which was now shaking again, as if she was shivering from the cold.

I thought about it for a moment; she would be submersed in warm water, a perfect contrast to the cold. Maybe Alice was right; it _would_ be good for her to finally be completely warm, warmer even than blankets could keep her. Plus, it would be nice for her to be clean, to have all the tangles and dirt removed from her ocher* fur.

As was typical, my psychic sister saw my answer first. She bounded up from the couch excitedly, already rambling in her thoughts about which scents she would use to wash out the fur. Before she had the chance, I scooped up my Puppy, trailing after her towards the upstairs bathroom. Emmett chuckled for a moment, thinking about how often I gave in to our sister's demands. I don't think he realized that I wasn't doing it for Alice, but for my mate.

When she was warm and clean, I felt like maybe her thought of being abandoned in the cold might go away. Or at least, I hoped so.

"Use the honey scent, Alice."

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note: **__Gah, sorry it's been so long! However, I think it was worth the wait; I have a warm feeling after writing this chapter, like it went very well. I hope you liked it just as much as I did/do!_

_I don't have any clue as to when the next chapter will be up, so, you shouldn't expect it anytime in the next week, though I may surprise you…_

_*Just for those of you who don't know, ocher is a golden brown colour – you could say it is the colour of the Cullens' eyes…_

_Review, please, and remember me._


	4. The Scent

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part One: The Cold**

**Chapter Four: The Scent**

'_**Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_When you hear a wolf howl, you think to yourself, "They're talking to each other." You're wrong, though. Wolves don't howl when they are happy; they don't howl to call each other. Wolves howl because they are lonely, because they are scared… they howl for forgiveness for sins they did not commit; forgiveness that will come in the form of a bullet._

_**LFW**_

_**bella:**_

_he smelt like home, this strange man. it was a scent that i had gone so long without, it was almost forgotten. what i would give to have my family love me, to have a home… what i would give to have anything but the wild forest, the blistering cold to call my own. what i would give to have all the things _they_ had so rightfully denied me._

_for hadn't my family only acted the way anybody would when faced with a monster?_

_**LFW**_

_**Edward:**_

The perfumed bath soap twisted the scent of my Puppy until it was almost indistinguishable; it changed it, made it an oddity. I didn't like it, and yet, I loved it. I loved everything about my mate, even this scent that was on her and yet not her own.

She reacted in an odd way; a way very uncharacteristic of a seemingly wild (yet confusingly tame) animal. As the water cascaded over her back, her sides, her legs, she stood still. Completely still. Her eyes remained focused on some far off place in front of her, for she certainly could not have been focused on the wall. She was far away in that moment, perhaps connecting the feeling of the bath with a long-ago memory. Maybe she had been in the forest during a warm rain and was recalling it, as this water flowed over her.

My sister worked swiftly; her fingers gently and easily removed any knots in the fur. She lightly massaged all the dirt out while I worked to gently clean Puppy's feet. As they were the things that had still been shaking, as if they were frozen, I would not allow anyone else to touch them. Esme had joined us earlier; she had searched the house for the fluffiest towel we had and was currently moving it in the space around a heater we had going in the room, trying to make it warm for when the bath was done.

I appreciated that more than I could tell her.

When all was done, and my mother and sister had remained in the bathroom to clean up as I carried my now clean, dry and warm mate upstairs into my room, she shifted in my arms. It was the first time she had showed any sign of life since we had placed her in the tub.

Her head moved from the place where it had been lying against my arm, and she looked at me. It was very human, this look; it made me notice things about her eyes. They were big, and brown, as I had already known. But what I had failed to see was the slight flickers of gray in them, the sheen of memories both haunting and kind. She had lived a life that the others of her kind had not; something had happened to her.

It was as I was moving to place her on the couch in my bedroom that she moved again; her eyes seemed to flutter closed, and she leaned further into me to bury her face against my neck. It felt heavenly to me, having her so close, and I could feel her taking deep breaths in… taking my scent in. As he did so, she relaxed. She relaxed for the first time since I had brought her in.

What I would have given for her to be human in that moment, so that I could read her thoughts on this moment. Or, better yet, have her tell me in a voice that I was sure would be deep, and warm, and maybe airy, too. I could almost hear it now.

"Hey, Puppy," I murmured as she continued to smell me. "I'm going to put you down now, okay?"

She pulled away slightly, and looked at me again. Looked at me as if she understood me. Was that possible? I didn't know; couldn't know.

As I placed her down, she moved with me; carefully pulling her body away from my arms to lie on the couch, and curling up when she was fully on it.

I smiled, reaching forward to rub between her ears. Her eyes moved to keep looking at me, following me as I moved slightly. "You're a smart one, aren't you?"

She blinked.

"Do you know what I'm saying?" I asked stupidly, knowing she couldn't answer. To my astonishment, though, she lifted up her head, and seemed to nod. My eyes widened. "You know what I'm saying?" I asked in shock.

She nodded again, and this time the motion was more deliberate.

I moved from the floor in front of her to sit on the couch beside her, never moving my hand from her head. I could tell she liked the way I was petting her. "How?" As if she could answer me. She merely blinked slowly bemusedly. "So you can only nod, huh?" I blew out my breath, thinking.

Had I ever heard of a case of an animal that could understand – even answer! – human speech? No. I was certain I had not. But here was such a case right in front of me, proving many people who understood animals to be a series of stupid species, less evolved than humans, wrong. My mate – my wonderful, amazing mate – could understand me. She knew what I was saying when I spoke to her. She could nod! Was there ever such a case? There couldn't have been.

I shook my head in disbelief at her. "You're amazing, you are," I told her. "Simply and truly amazing." It was the complete truth. And, even though I wished that I could remain in this room alone with her forever, just to bask in her presence, I knew somebody else who would like to hear about this.

I stood up swiftly, petting her once more, and promising that I would be back. As I left the room, I left the door open. "Carlisle!"

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note:**__ Well, this chapter was spit out pretty quickly. I'm still standing by my words that you shouldn't expect frequent updates (like this one). I don't know how well I'll be able to type up the next chapter for instance. This one came quickly, but it doesn't mean the rest will._

_Also, I will shout out to whoever can pick up the vague Harry Potter reference that is in this chapter; I didn't even realize it until after I was proofreading. Plus, there is a poll on my profile about which of my _Strange Imprints_ stories was your favourite. It doesn't really amount to anything, I'd just like to know._

_Found a/some mistakes? Let me know!_

_Review, please, and remember me._


	5. The Anomaly

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part One: The Cold**

**Chapter Five: The Anomaly**

'_**Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_Monsters can appear anywhere, inside anyone. There could be one living in the house down the road – the one that nobody goes in. Or perhaps you pass one on the street every day; that odd stranger that everybody warns you away from. Or, and this is the most terrifying 'or'… one could be in the same house as you, the same room. You could interact with them every hour of every day, and you would never notice. That's the scary thing about monsters, the way they can hide themselves._

_**LFW**_

**_bella:_**

_he knew now. what would he do? how fast would he get rid of me, now he knew the freak, the monster i was? i was terrified now. why had i told him? why had i trusted him? he was just like them, no matter how much he felt like home. the cold was waiting for me, and i would soon be in it again._

_but, he had smiled at me. called me amazing. how long had it been since i'd heard that word. eleven years… ever since the first winter where i couldn't maintain my shape. _

_ever since the attack._

_**LFW**_

_**Edward**_

"You're telling me she can understand you?"

"She nodded."

"Are you sure she wasn't just moving her head in a way that made it _seem_ like she was nodding?"

"I'm sure."

Carlisle sighed, and leaned back in his chair heavily. He had ran his hands through his hair many times – it had made me smile, for it was a habit that over the decades we had been together I had picked up – and now it was sticking up oddly, instead of the perfect order it was usually in. This showed his confusion at the information I had brought him.

"If she truly can understand you – _us_ – Edward, than surely you realize how… _unique_ she would be. Animals, as a whole, cannot understand human speech the way that other humans can. It is too complex, too confusing to them. Well, and why would they have ever had a need to understand it? They cannot replicate the sounds."

"So how would she have learned it, Carlisle?" I asked for probably the fifth time. "I just don't know how she could. Humans generally avoid wolves, don't they? They think they're rabid, wild; so, she couldn't have come into touch with many, could she?"

As Carlisle was about to answer me – indeed, his thoughts were moving too fast for me to comprehend – a low whine came from the doorway. I swivelled around in my chair instantly, knowing who it was right away. My Puppy was standing in the hallway, with her head barely peeking into the room. Her tail was shaking slightly, and she was looking right at me with a sad look in her eyes. It nearly broke my heart.

"Come here, sweetheart," I said quietly, reaching my arms towards her slightly. Her ears perked up, and her steps were slow and careful. I noticed that she kept glancing between Carlisle and I, and recalled that she had spent little time in the presence of my father figure. "He's not going to hurt you, Puppy."

That was all it took; she practically ran into my arms, and surprised me as she jumped up straight into my lap. I laughed through the surprise. "Someone's excited."

She glanced towards Carlisle again, before nodding and… smiling. Or, at least it must have been a wolf's interpretation of a smile, with her cheeks pulling back and her mouth opening to show her teeth. She looked utterly adorable.

I followed suit soon after, and glanced at the only father I could truly remember. He was staring at her in confusion and wonderment, and his thoughts were racing as he took in that she truly could 'communicate' with us. It was unnerving, the way she could understand. It was so unlike an animal. So unlike a wolf.

She stopped smiling soon after, instead nuzzling her face into my side and seemingly falling asleep. By her pulse, though, I knew she was merely resting. Her breathes were out of sync, as well. She was listening.

"Well," Carlisle began. "This is certainly unexpected."

I chuckled at the understatement. Why would anyone ever expect a wild animal to be able to 'talk' back to you, and answer your questions?

"Do you think that she would answer to me? Perhaps it is only you, being that she is your imprint."

I shrugged, but I knew from the slight perking of her ears that Puppy had been listening. "Seems worth testing. Puppy? Would you mind looking at Carlisle, just for a moment?"

She looked up at me, and – unless I was imagining it – there was a spark of annoyance in her eyes, which she seemed to roll before turning towards him. Such actions did not work to dull his curiosity and amazement.

He cleared his throat, unnecessary as it was. "Puppy?" He began hesitantly. "Can you, er, understand me at all?"

This time she _clearly _rolled her eyes, before huffing and nodding yes. His eyes lit up, and you could see his excitement on the features of his face. It was rare that Carlisle found something as interesting as he was finding Puppy. After three hundred years of soaking up the world's knowledge, things tend to become a little stale.

"Simply amazing," he breathed, turning from his desk to start rummaging through his many books. "I wonder…"

As soon as I heard those words, I sighed and stood up. Let nobody get in my father's (in all but blood) way when he became interested in something.

"Come on Puppy, let's go bug Emmett."

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note**__: So, it's definitely a little later than I expected but, hey, at least it's up! I hope you liked it because, while short (and a filler), I thought it added something to the story. Don't worry, even though I've already admitted that this is a filler chapter, that doesn't mean that this will never be mentioned again; this chapter is important in its own way._

_On other notes, do you like __**Harry Potter**__? If you do, feel free to check out the three oneshots I recently put up based on the series. Yes, I'm finally branching out. Also, I recommend you look up __**Snapshots**__ by __**Little Patch of Heaven**__; it's a bunch of poems, one for each canon character of __**Harry Potter**__ (not finished yet, of course), and they're simply amazing. So, go and look at them!_

_Review, please, and remember me._

_Up next: An Important Insight in the Nighttime._


	6. The Nightmare

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part One: The Cold**

**Chapter Six: The Nightmare**

'_**Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_When a child screams, anyone with half a brain and a heart to match would immediately turn in the direction it came from. They would want to save the child, wouldn't they? Of course they would, because that's what they've been taught to do. They're all like minions, taught to act in the right way, say the right thing, and DO the right thing. Endlessly working towards another person's opinion of right. If a child cries wolf, you'd run to them, guns blazing, and save them._

_Run, little wolf, run._

_**LFW**_

_**bella:**_

_it'd been so long since i'd thought of the attack. so long since i'd pushed it from my memory, abandoned it in the furthest reaches of my mind, and locked it in a cage wrapped with chains to prevent it from getting out._

_but, even though i'd done all that, it still lingered, just out of reach..._

_the sounds were growing closer. the snapping of each twig was like a gunshot in my ear._

_i tried so hard to keep it that way, out of reach. but sometimes it caught up to me, as the past always does._

_or maybe it was just an echo of the bullet they'd just fired at me, missing me by mere feet._

_the nightmares would claw at me in the dark, in the cold._

_when the cold first set in, their faces. their horrified faces as they saw what i'd become._

_nightmares of the attack, and things that happened because of the attack. the attack that happened because of my cursed heart, always wanting to do the right thing. but what is the right thing, in the end?_

_a horrifying scream sounded through the night, sending shivers down my spine. a child? is that what it was?_

_is the right thing what everybody else says is right?_

_running, racing through the woods, towards the scream, the child. have to save them, what's happening?_

_but what if the right thing turns out wrong, in the end? what do you do then?_

_my own scream mixed in with the child's. there was blood everywhere, and the pain was blending into something more, something worse. _i'm going to die.

_**LFW**_

_**Edward**_

Spring was fast approaching, and Carlisle still hadn't narrowed down what my Puppy could possibly be. He had come across many different stories about werewolves, but (of course), none of them quite fit. Besides, the only thing we had was that she was a _really_ intelligent wolf.

The cause of this intelligence remained unknown. She seemed comfortable enough living in our house with us, when by all means she should be terrified. Her instincts should be on high alert, her reactions like that of a cornered animal, considering she was really just a wild animal. And then add on the fact that we were vampires…

She really shouldn't be as comfortable as is.

But, yet, she _was_ comfortable. She had even allowed Alice to brush and style her fur, which would have made any animal uncomfortable, particularly with Alice's cold hands. She didn't move, though; instead, she had let out a low rumbling sound which we had all taken to mean she liked it. And my sister had certainly been delighted when she had heard it.

So, then, was it possible that my Puppy had been in a similar situation? Had someone tamed her somehow, and thus taught her how to act when surrounded by 'humans' and inside, instead of in the woods? This could, seemingly, be one reason for her intelligence. If she had been considerably 'domestic' before, it was possible she could remember that time and call on it for guidance with us. The question still remained, though: even if she had been taken in with somebody else, how could she understand our language? It would have been tiring for anyone to try and teach English to a wolf, so surely that hadn't happened.

Perhaps she was an anomaly, simple as that. Such an answer, though, could never satisfy me.

When spring finally came, and the sun was shining more often than not – an amazing feat for Forks – she started acting… differently. Well, really she'd always been different' hasn't we spent the last couple of months trying to find out if she was even a true wolf?

But it was the longing in her chocolate eyes that reeled me in; they would flash like lightening as the sun stayed out a bit longer as each day passed. Her fur seemed duller, which had me worried, but Carlisle looked her over time and time again and assured me that she wasn't sick. As the weeks passed, and the air outside warmed, her skin became less and less the colour of golden brown she had had when I had first seen her, and more tan, more skin-coloured. We didn't know what to make of this change, though Rosalie thought that perhaps her fur was like that of human hair, and became bleached when in the sun.

And she was certainly spending a lot more time outside. Her ears would perk up adorably, her eyes determined as she stared out the window at the rising sun. She would observe as the others got ready for the tedious act of school – I could hardly stand being away from her, and had managed to convince Carlisle to tell the town that I had been accepted to a special school for the remainder of the year, though had had to promise that I would return this coming September – and as soon as they left, she would launch across the room, grab my sleeve with my mouth, and practically force me to let her outside. It was such a change from the way she had darted in and out in the winter that I was puzzled.

Perhaps the warmth agreed with her?

Possibly the most amazing part of it all was the way she remained by my side when the sun hit my skin. The way the light fragmented off of my in-human body would have highlighted by strangeness, my oddities, to any animal (though my scent should have really been enough to scare her away by now), but she didn't seem to mind. The first time it had happened, she had frozen, staring at me with such an intense look on her face that I could do nothing but stand there, helplessly. It was an odd feeling for an immortal.

She seemed to have taken by difference in with a grace only she could possess, though; her shoulders had seemed to shrug, before she darted off to find the best rock to sun bathe in. She particularly loved sun bathing.

Even though the air was warmer, and even we could feel how uncomfortable the heat was at times, she growled and snarled whenever one of us tried to turn the heaters off in the house. Even as she spent hours lying in the sun outside, she returned to the house when the clouds came out only to sit by a heater, practically rubbing against it. Any Google searches had turned up with the news that it was bad to keep a house to warm with an animal living in it, as their thick fur kept them warm enough, but she wouldn't allow us to shut anything off. She often nuzzled and widened her eyes into getting a blanket fresh out of the dryer, as well, though we all knew it was strange behaviour.

One Saturday in early May, as we were watching the news, she sat up quickly at the weather report. She seemed to be watching the screen with interest.

"Today will be setting a record high for this time of year in Washington," the weather reporter said, smiling brightly into the camera. "Reports are coming in saying that the temperature might reach a high of 85 degrees this early afternoon."

The words had barely left her mouth before Puppy was up and running towards the door, waiting impatiently as Esme got up to let her out. I followed close after her, seeing her reach a high rock quickly and lie down on it. She spread out quickly, seemingly making sure that as much of her as possible was being hit by the sun, before falling asleep.

I worried for a moment, as I knew that it was quite warm outside, and sleeping only caused the body temperature to rise. My worry turned into full blown panic as she suddenly launched up, strange jolts running through her body, making her appear as if she was heaving.

"Carlisle!" I yelled quickly, though it was unnecessary; the others had already heard the strange whimpering, choking noises she was making and were by my side as I ran to her. She let out a snarl as I reached out to grab her, and if I were human she would have taken my finger off with her sharp teeth as she bit forward. She continued flinching, and as I fretted, trying to find a way to touch her, snapping sounds began coming from her body.

Her bones were breaking.

"What's going on?" I asked Carlisle, my complete fear covering any confusion I had. He didn't do as good of a job; his voice was clearly bewildered as he answered.

"I don't know… I've never heard of this before," he murmured quietly.

My Puppy suddenly fell over, keening highly in pain, before all movement in her body stopped. I stepped forward carefully, looking worriedly at her glazed eyes, before launching back with all of the others as her body began morphing.

It was sickening to watch; her limbs began lengthening, her spine straightening, though the body began curving into itself quickly. It was almost as if all the fur on her body was disappearing into her body, while the sound of snapping bones began again, though they reformed into a new shape quickly.

Pale-golden fur turned into creamy, smooth skin; long, thick mahogany hair began tumbling around the body as tiny hands slumped down upon the sun-warmed rock. The strong (though desperately fragile) body of the wolf turned into something delicate, and unmistakeably human.

In mere moments, my Puppy was gone, and in the place was the unmistakeable shape of a girl.

She was panting slightly, and somewhere in the middle of the process her eyes had shut. As one last crack rang out through the yard, she let out a low whimper, and opened her eyes. They seemed to find the sun instantly, looking at it in complete wonder.

"Thank you," a lilting voice breathed through pink lips. A shiver ran through my body. I wanted to step forward, to say something to this girl who was my imprint but wasn't, not really, she was so different, but her body began moving again before I could.

Her cries sounded like a broken melody, and though I was confused, and overwhelmed, and just so _everything_, I couldn't hold myself back from gathering her in my arms, and holding her tightly, feeling as if I never wanted to let her go.

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note: **__So, uh, that's chapter six? I hope you guys like it. I would just like to point out before I move onto more important things that this is the first time in the _Strange Imprints Universe_ that Edward has ever been there to witness Bella's first change. There's a first time for everything, I guess? And this story was always supposed to be a little different than the others, seeing as it's my last _Strange Imprints_ story, and all._

_I find myself apologizing a lot when it comes to fanfiction lately, and that sucks, but so does writer's block. I'm not going to say anything else to much, only that I promised myself I would finished this story before the end of the year, and now it's almost halfway through November and it's not even close to being done, and that kind of makes me feel like a failure. I've also promised myself that I would begin writing in other fandoms, but that's worked out about as well as this story has, so…_

_Basically, I haven't been impressed with myself lately, but hopefully I'll find time to make my dreams come true._

_I'll try to have the next chapter up soon, but I'm not promising anything. I've broken to many of those lately for them to still ring true, and I won't do that to you guys; not anymore._

_Review, if you'd like, and remember me._


	7. Intermission

****_Author's note:_****_This chapter does not follow the real plot line; it is merely an alternate version of the previous chapter. If you wish to skip it, you may; the real next chapter is next!_

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Intermission**

'_**Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

It seemed like the summer heat was coming early to Forks. For the first time in years, temperatures reached upwards of 80 degrees in late March, fending off any attempts at rain or snow the wet state usually bathed itself in.

One particular family found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. They couldn't venture out in the sun for fear of the humans finding out their biggest secret – that they were a little less than human themselves.

Their newest member – even less human than they were, but remarkably intelligent – loved the new weather, in contrast to the depression it had caused throughout the vampiric members of the household. She was constantly begging to be let outside, and then spent the hours bathing in the bright sunlight. She would always be forced back in when a peculiar keening sound would rise up in her throat, and a shaking wound throughout her body. She struggled heavily during these moments, wanting to remain in the sun, but her vampiric partner was far too worried about her getting dehydrated. When the door was locked and she was made to stay inside for the remainder of the day, her crying and pouting by the door almost changed his mind, but her never unlocked the door.

One such morning, when temperatures had reached a record breaking 87 degrees in the first week of April, she was let back out for her allotted three hours. Her partner had been gone since mid morning, hunting out in the forest with the rest of the family. He had been unwilling to leave her all alone, and that meant somebody had to remain behind and keep an eye on her. As his newest brother went nearly every week, he was okay to wait a little longer before he could go out on his own, and readily volunteered. What he wasn't thinking about was the fact that he was an empath, and their new canine sibling was very, _very_ looking forward to getting out in the sun.

This led to him getting really annoyed with all of the desperation and sadness she was throwing out, and thus he opened the door when the sun was highest in the sky – the very time his brother had told him to make sure she was inside, as the chances of her catching heat stroke rose greatly – and let her out. Instantly, she darted into the forest, determined to ensure that she was as far away from the house as possible so that she wouldn't be locked back in. Luckily for her, her brother wasn't paying much attention, far to glad to be free of her pulsating emotions.

She spent hours in the heat, bathing and sleeping in it. The shaking in her body grew more intense, but it certainly wasn't because of any ill effects from the sun. It was the same with the keening sounds. While, yes, she was feeling a slight pain in her bones, the sounds were ones of joy. The warmth was streaming through her body like a river, filling every nook and cranny with the rays.

As the hours passed, a change began flowing over the female wolf. Her honey-brown fur began lightening, growing pale along her body; the top of her head, however, began darkening. Her eyes followed suit and became a dark brown flecked with swirls of their former colour.

Another hour, and her body started changing; the limbs were elongating, the spine changing form. Her snout seemed to begin sliding back into her face, the mouth and the nose clearly separating to form a different facial structure. The features, as a whole, were softening.

The pain in this change, however, became known through her cries. Instead of the snippets of joy they had been before, they were now deep, mournful howls punctuated with high-pitched whines and barks.

These sounds brought unwanted attention to the wolf; the vampires that were hunting in the forest were quickly brought towards the noise, one of them recognizing it with a quite shocking sense of panic. As they enclosed on the animal that was making the sounds, the change stopped.

The animal was now no longer a wolf; instead, it looked startlingly like a human, except for the last few signs of the wild animal it had once resembled. Fur still remained on the majority of the body, now an odd clash between mahogany on the scalp and a pale peach on the remainder of the body. While the limbs were more like arms and legs now, with individual fingers and toes of the proper length, claws still topped the end. Still, it was desperately obvious that she had once been the wolf that had found a home with the vampires, and they new right away that it was her; the scent had not changed at all.

The wolf's partner slammed to a halt when he came across her, as did the rest of his family. She was whimpering still, her breaths quick and shallow. He wanted to comfort her, but the shock was too much to handle. He didn't understand.

Luckily he didn't touch her; his cold physique would have stunted the change even more, and while they were watching it began again. The slight wind stopped rushing through the trees, leaving nothing behind but the intense heat.

In one quick flurry of movement, punctuated with loud cries of torture, the change was completed. The fur and claws had disappeared; the body now fully human in shape. In place of the beautiful wolf that had once been on the ground, there now lay a teenage girl with pale skin, freckles sprayed across her nose beneath long, dark lashes. The fur that had darkened on her head and also lengthened, leaving behind messy, slightly curly hair. The girl was panting, her eyes closed tightly, her nails digging into the dirt as the remaining tremors of pain rocked her body.

The warmth had come.

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note: **__sorry it took so long. Hopefully you guys like this chapter; I know it is quite a bit different from the others, but as you can see from the title it is just an intermission in the story. After this point, the chapters will return to the way they have always been._

_Tell me what you think. I'm hoping to have this story finished sometime within the month. Don't get your hopes up, but that's what I'm planning for. After this point, I will be updating every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until I say that it is complete._

_What did you think about the change? If you've read the other Strange Imprint stories, you'll see that this is the first one that Edward was present throughout the initial change. Let me know your thoughts on it!_

_Review, please, and remember me._


	8. The Strings

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part Two: The Heat**

**Chapter Seven: The Strings**

'_**Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_We're all just pathetic little puppets, aren't we?_

_**LFW**_

_**bella:**_

_the warmth._

_is it possible to ever forget this warmth? the way it reaches down through every vein in my body, finally – after so long! – freeing me from my frozen state. it was different, here, in this strange place; the sun didn't shine quite as bright, and not for as long. but i had done it._

_i was free. at least, until winter came again._

_**Edward:**_

I couldn't speak, couldn't move. I could hardly think. My family seemed to be in quite the same state, as I had heard barely a word escape from their thoughts ever since… well.

I didn't even know how to explain it. How could my Puppy, _my wolf_, go from being such a beautiful, astoundingly warm creature of the forest into… this, while equally beautiful, so fragile and shaking a girl? The entire thing reminded me of the wolves across the border, but they could change on will. Surely my Puppy couldn't, or she would have done it before.

She was making an odd sound between that was somewhere between a sob and a whimper; little by little, it was breaking my heart. But how could I comfort her when I didn't _understand_. She was so warm in my arms, so much more fragile than she had seemed before. Now she was only human, and there are _so many_ tiny, inconsequential things that could harm her. Where she could protect herself with her sharp claws and teeth before, she was too soft now, breakable.

Carlisle stepped forward. She must have seen it from the corner of her eyes as she instantly snapped her head up, looking at him, startled. Her eyes were wide, and from my close position (how closer could you get than holding someone in your arms?) I could see that dark lashes framed them, but were accented even more so by a light smattering of freckles that dusted her cheeks. She was magnificent, in any form, really, but different.

While Carlisle was trying to decide how to approach the matter, Alice suddenly launched herself forward, knocking me out of the way to get a better look at my newly-formed imprint.

"Oh, you're so cute!" she said finally. "I can just imagine how good you'll look in a nice, blue chiffon blouse. Maybe we'll get some black jeans to go with it and-"

"Alice, dear," Jasper spoke up. "Perhaps now is not the time?"

She paused, staring deeply into the wide, shocked eyes of my imprint, before conceding. "Fine," she spoke with a shrug, stepping back into the front my family put up before us. Again, Carlisle moved forward, seemingly taking in everything with wonder.

My imprint let out a little noise, making me turn my full attention back towards her. Her hands were rubbing at mine that were around her waist, putting a slight pressure on them. I realized I had unknowingly tightened my hold on her, and instantly loosened it, helping her stand as she made the motion to.

She wasn't short, but she wasn't exactly tall, either. I suppose she would be considered just a little over average height. She reached my shoulder, in any case, and as I watched her stretch a little I noticed that there were small, stringy muscles just underneath her skin that I could not feel. It was possible that she wasn't exactly _fragile_, then, but certainly not strong anymore. I felt my instincts changing, making protecting her my number one priority, whereas before it had been slightly less important.

She spoke again. "Um… hi?"

We remained silent for a moment, before Emmett started laughing. While, I'll admit, it was amusing, it only served to make Rosalie angry.

"Hi? That's all you have to say after" she made an odd, choppy hand motion towards the ground "all of that?"

She cocked her head to the side as she stared at my blonde, infuriated sister. Rosalie's mind was full of thoughts of the wolf that had eagerly run outside just an hour ago. How had that relatively normal action culminated in this happening?

And then she smiled, and it was such a wonderful smile that I couldn't keep myself from smiling with her. I'm sure Emmett would tease me for the rest of eternity for this moment of what he would call, 'sappiness'. As if he wasn't the exact same way with Rosalie.

"Oh, of course." She finally said, nodding at Rosalie, her smile dimming. "I suppose you, um, want to know… what I am?"

My sister rolled her eyes. "That would be nice."

It seemed Esme had had enough. "Rosalie," she said sharply, causing my eldest sibling to back off. "Why don't we go inside, dear, and you can explain there?" She addressed my Puppy next, smiling gently.

The perfect creature nodded her head slowly, carefully stepping forward as if testing her weight. She seemed to find it okay to walk, and nodded again. "That sounds fine."

She walked quite slowly towards the house, clearly getting used to the function of two legs instead of four. My family was patient with her – well, except for Alice, who had run ahead to find a more suitable outfit for my Puppy. She wasn't nude, which is what – thinking back on it – I would have assumed if I had ever thought about witnessing such a change. But still, she was clothed; she wasn't wearing _much_, however. Clearly her stint as a wild animal had caused quite a bit of damage to her clothing. They seemed to fit her fine, but there were odd rips and tears that seemed to be shaped like claw marks, as well as an oddly shaped hole around the shoulders that seemed to be long-stained with… blood.

It hurt me greatly to think that she had ever been hurt enough to bleed. But through the many holes and tears, I could see nothing but perfect, smooth skin. Not a scar to be seen.

As we sat on the couches in the family room, Puppy sighed. She looked suddenly weary, and warm. I wondered for a moment if she would protest to us turning off the heaters now. Alice joined us, gently placing a folded up outfit on the coffee table, knowing it could wait until after.

"Well," she drew out. "Basically, I'm, uh, a werewolf."

Silence. And then one word from Carlisle. "Explain." It wasn't strict, more curious.

She looked at us all, stopping on Rosalie, as if sensing she was the most judgmental. I nearly growled at all of the thoughts filling my sister's head. "Seven years ago, I was walking home from school. I had joined a book club, and had remained behind after one of the meetings to help clean up. It was already dark by the time I got outside.

"My house was situated on a quiet street, with an expansive forest across from it. There had been talk for years of going in and tearing down the trees, perhaps put a park or an apartment building, but they hadn't gotten around to any serious decisions yet. It was a rather frightening place, and I didn't like being near it, but for some reason – perhaps some wrong calculations in the process of building the neighbourhood – it was along the edge of the forest where the sidewalk was. There were many trails going off into the forest, but nobody dared enter the trees in nothing but broad daylight, unless you were a hunter.

"There were many different kinds of animals in the forest; often, in the middle of the night, you would hear the hollow clunking sounds of moose fighting, or the call of some kind of bird. The hunters loved it there; maybe that's why they didn't cut it all down," she mused, shaking her head to clear it. "Basically, it was a dark, scary forest and I had to walk along it to get to my house.

As I was walking, I heard…" she hesitated, testing a few words before continuing. "Well, I heard screaming. It sounded like a child." She swallowed heavily, her eyes growing distant. Rosalie and Esme both gasped. "It was terrible. I'd never heard anything worse in my life.

"I didn't even think. It was instant, my reaction. Before I knew it, I was running through the woods, just trying to follow the screams as best I could."

She stopped again, obviously returning to a scene of the past. I couldn't help but put my arm around her. My family was silent, waiting patiently for the rest of the story.

"I can't explain what I saw; even now, when I know how it feels, it is… still too _strange,"_ she sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back, relaxing both into me and the couch, clenching her hands into fists. "It was a child, couldn't be more than eight or nine, I'm still not sure. And she was… _changing_ into an animal. At least, that's all I could figure out then. There was blood everywhere, and she was an absolute mess… I wanted to help her.

"So I went to her. I didn't know what to do, how to fix it, how to comfort her. I didn't understand what was happening. She didn't sense me until I was already reaching out for her. I didn't realize it at the time, but she was too much of an animal for her to realize that I was trying to help her. She only knew that some unknown being was approaching her, and reaching out for her." She breathed out deeply. "So, she did what any animal would do and attacked."

I stiffened, angry at the thought that anybody – even a child – could harm my mate this way. I was furious.

"I didn't feel anything, surprisingly. I blacked out right away, and woke up in the hospital with my mom and sister hovering over me. My dad was in the hallway, arguing with the doctor about something." She chuckled. "The story they told me was that I was found in the woods, apparently having wandered in and passed out. I wasn't injured in anyway, merely being treated with exposure. I thought, perhaps, that they were telling the truth and that the… incident had been nothing but a horrific nightmare.

"And then winter came and everything changed." She sat up now, animated, looking at Carlisle with wide, bright eyes. "I don't know why, but every time it grows cold, I change. I'm that wolf you first brought into your family, but _I'm not_. I'm human. My mind, my heart – it's all human! I'm so cold all the time, and each year it takes more and more heat in order to help me change back. By summer, I'm myself… but when winter comes, I'm not. I'm a _dog_. A _Puppy_," she said, looking pointedly at Rosalie.

She stopped talking then, taking deep breaths. It didn't seem like anybody was going to say anything for a while, until she spoke again. She was sad, now, clearly thinking about her predicament. "And to think, all I wanted to do was save a child, and I get _this_ as a reward. It's pathetic, how far one will go to help somebody else. We just let ourselves be pulled along, doing good thing after good thing, and for what?

"What did I do to deserve to become an _animal?_"

I just held her, not knowing what to say.

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note:**__ And here it is, as promised. Almost 2,000 words! The longest chapter for any _Strange Imprints_ story to date. Hope you like it._

_I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in you guys. Only two of you noticed that there was something wrong between the end of chapter six and the intermission I posted on Saturday. Chapter six explained the change, but the intermission described a completely different happening. I'll explain it, even for those of you that didn't notice. The intermission was not part of the story line; as you can see, this is chapter seven. The intermission was my first vision of the change, wanting her to run away in order to do so, to show some strength instead of mindlessly following Edward's wants. It became clear, however, that I couldn't fit that side of the change in very well, so I wrote it a different way. The intermission is merely a parallel to chapter six. It does not belong in the story line at all. Think of it as an alternate chapter, or an outtake, if you will. I hope that isn't too hard to understand! This chapter is connected directly to chapter six, NOT the intermission. I will be going back and putting an author's note at the top of the intermission so nobody else gets confused, now that I've explained it to you._

_I'm starting to get back into this story. Let me know how you feel about how Bella became a werewolf, and if you're at all interested in MAYBE getting the full story in a short "Before the Imprint" story of pre-wolf Bella._

_Review, please, and remember me._


	9. The Steps

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part Two: The Heat**

**Chapter Eight: The Steps**

'_**Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_One man's garbage is another man's treasure. Sometimes the garbage is more like a curse, but it means the same thing. Right?_

_**LFW**_

_**bella:**_

_they just didn't _get it_. it wasn't interesting, it wasn't unique or awesome or cool or whatever. it was hell. it _is_ hell. and it will _never_ get better._

_**LFW**_

_**Edward:**_

Rosalie wanted to cry. All her life she had wanted a child, and the want had only grown when she had changed. Hearing of the horrors that the child that my Puppy had been trying to save had hurt her, greatly. It was the same for Esme, but she was focused on something else.

"How old were you, dear?" It brought up a great point; my imprint spoke as if this had happened years ago, but to be able to walk home from school in the dark alone, it couldn't have been all that long ago. She didn't look more than a year or two older than my physical age, twenty at the most, but that was pushing it.

Puppy – _I must learn her name_ – smiled, but like the majority of her smiles, it wasn't exactly happy. It wasn't sad, either, but it had a peculiar, downtrodden edge to it that prevented it from representing pure happiness. It distressed me to know that she had been through things in her life to make her smile like that. "I was – am – eighteen," she sighed, looking down.

Jasper shifted. "You've only been a wolf for a short while, then?" He asked confused; he was testing her emotions, and he couldn't get a very good read on them. It was almost like she was still in animal form, as her emotions were still muted and very simple, instead of the normal, broad spectrum of emotions humans experienced. He figured it had something to do with her condition, and wondered if perhaps her being so new to being a werewolf prevented her from having complex emotions.

She shook her heard slowly, clearly thinking about something. "No…" she said, drawing it out. "I think I've been like this for… twelve years now?" It was like a question, but she answered it on her own shortly after, nodding decisively. "Yes, twelve. It'll be thirteen this fall."

Esme gasped. "Oh, you poor thing; you were so young!"

Puppy looked startled, and a little irritated. "Eighteen isn't that young! I'm considered an adult!" Clearly age was an issue with her.

I chuckled slightly, moving closer to her. "I think she meant the age that you were changed at, love; you would have been, what? Five or six?"

She turned her head to me, looking at me in obvious confusion. "What do you me-" she cut herself off. "Oh." She smiled again, looking up towards the ceiling and closing her eyes. "No, sorry; I guess I didn't really mention it. I haven't aged since my attack. I was eighteen then, and thirteen years later, I'm still eighteen – physically, anyway."

Oh. Well, that made sense, I guess. She must have been a little bit more like us then I'd thought. It made me sad, though, to know that she too was stuck, frozen at one age, forever.

But, and this was puzzling; she was still relatively human, right? I could hear her heart beating, and she needed oxygen, food, and water. Vampires were immortal because we didn't need any of that stuff; we only needed blood to keep our already-dead bodies from decaying. I suppose it was possible that she didn't age, but could she really be considered immortal, when she was still _alive?_

Carlisle was following the same train of thought, going over different ideas and theories. The time he had spent with the 'vampiric government', the Volturi coven in Italy, had served him well when it came to knowledge of strange and inhuman creatures. He had read myth after myth, trying to find some small shred of truth that – if we existed – there must be others. His curiosity had been met, slightly, when we had first come across the Quileute wolf pack, and again when he heard news of a by-the-moon werewolf, but this… My imprint clearly wasn't like either of those examples, and gave him another chance to have his thirst for knowledge (almost more potent than his thirst for blood) quenched.

He finally voiced his thoughts. "That's fascinating," he began, leaning forward, watching her with wide eyes. I could hear him categorizing everything he saw about her in his mind, wanting to see if he could see anything different about her. But, really, there wasn't anything noticeably inhuman about her. It was only her scent that gave her away, and her eyes… they were human in shape and looks, but the colour was a little off. Much like the colour of a wolf's eyes, though a darker brown. "Perhaps I could take a look at your blood cells, or a couple of x-rays; your DNA must be fascinating, maybe a mix of wolf and hu-"

"Excuse me?" my Puppy cut in, her voice hard. She was glaring at him, her hands clenching into fists, her teeth slightly bared. "Are you purposing that it would be a good idea to run _experiments_ on me?"

He seemed surprised. "Not at all, I was just saying that if I could take a look-"

"Because though I may run around on all fours for half of the year, I'm still as human on the inside as they come. And I _don't_ want some would-be scientist poking and prodding at me like I was some sort of alien." Her eyes narrowed even more.

He was dismayed now, clearly looked ashamed. "I can see how you would see it that way, but I promise I didn't have any intention of, um, 'poking and prodding' at you. My apologies."

That seemed to work. She cooled down quickly, relaxing. Her eyes were closed again; perhaps it was a coping method, blocking out the sight in order to focus. "Yes, I'm sorry, too; I didn't mean to snap. It's just, after the attack… I woke up in the hospital and the doctor's seemed amazed that I had woken up that fast. Apparently it had been quite cold when I 'passed out'" she rolled her eyes "and they were in awe that my body had recovered that fast. They ended up keeping me there for a few days, taking scan after scan. It wasn't exactly fun, and I got tired of it fast.

"And then, of course, when I found out what had happened, I realized I couldn't exactly afford to have unknown doctors finding out that I wasn't 'normal'."

And Carlisle did understand what she was saying; it hurt him to know that, even after the months she had already been with us, she still considered him 'unknown', but she knew where she was coming from, and let it go. Perhaps if she stayed with us longer he would get some answers, anyways. "It's perfectly alright, Puppy, I understand; we don't need to do any tests, or anything."

"Thank you," she said simply. And she finally smiled for the first time, taking in all of my family members. "And my name is Bella." She smiled brighter, and finally – it felt so right! – leaned into me on her own terms, sighing sweetly as she settled in.

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note: **__I'm not sure if I'm happy about how this chapter turned out, but at least it's an update. It also finally officially introduced Bella to the Cullens, so they'll no longer (at least, not as often) call her Puppy._

_But, in other news, there is a poll up on my profile considering whether or not you would be interested in reading a _Before the Imprint_ story about Bella. It would retell Bella's backstory in a more detailed manner, mentioning things that I don't think will find a place in this story. Just let me know if you'd like me to write it or not!_

_Review, please, and remember me._


	10. The Blood

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part Two: The Heat**

**Chapter Nine: The Blood**

'_**Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_Sometimes ugly things can come out of what is considered beautiful; many things are hidden behind masks._

_**(Because I know some of you won't read it if I don't write this here, there is information about a charity event in the author's note at the end. Please read it!)**_

_**LFW**_

_**Edward:**_

It was quite awkward, sitting with my family after Bella left to wash up. They were shaken, and surprised by her story. Jasper and Carlisle were trying to sift through all that they had learned, looking over certain parts of her tale and casting aside others to review later. The rest of my family's thoughts were a mixture of pure emotions, ranging from shock and sadness, to pity and love. Esme was the one who was most focused on the latter. Now that she knew just what Bella was, her need to take care of her rose even greater.

And I can't say that it didn't affect my feelings for my imprint, either, because it most definitely did. From what little she had told us, I had the vague idea that she wasn't quite as fragile as she looked, but that didn't calm my instincts. In my mind, I knew that the humans that surrounded us in the world were quite fragile. They could be harmed by many things, most of them their own inventions. I had been witness to many of these injuries, having been Carlisle's companion for nearly a century. With his great control over the bloodlust, he had returned home from work many times agonizing over one patient or another, many of the injuries brought on by accidents.

But my instincts were conflicting, my vampiric mind still trying to mold the image of the great wolf with this average-sized young woman. They were two greatly contrasting images, and my instincts warred with each other over the thought of the wolf being able to protect itself, being a creature that ran on instincts and pure strength, and the human being very much in danger. With this new information brought into focus, the part of me that was most like an animal forced me to continue to focus on my newest brother's thoughts. Jasper, and while I trusted him with my very life, it was a very different thing when it came to my mate. Could he handle this new test on his control? It was one thing to avoid hunting a wolf, for though we fed from animals their very nature prevented us from doing so, being so close to our natural enemies; but it was an entirely different thing to remain in control with a human walking around.

I felt guilt, suddenly, for unknowingly bringing Bella into my home. While she was my mate, and I would undoubtedly give her the moon, if she should ever want for it, I knew my brother must feel cheated, now. Our home was more than a home, as corny as it sounded. It is a sanctuary, a place to escape from the humans and the blood and the burning. It was the only place we could truly be ourselves, and let our guard down. Here we had no reason to hide, and now I had brought someone home that would force my brother out of his relaxation at home; he would no longer be able to let his guard down, even with the ones he trusted.

My empathic brother must have picked upon my poignant emotions, through all of the other overwhelming emotions that were filling the room, and turned to focus on me. He saw that I was already looking his way, and understanding covered his features. He shook his head, and even without reading his thoughts, I knew he meant to tell me that he wasn't angry with me. He turned away once he felt my relief, knowing that it wasn't the time to get into this any deeper.

It was almost as if I had jinxed it. Just as it looked like Carlisle was preparing himself to say something about the matter, there was an odd noise from upstairs. Bella had insisted that she didn't need any assistance, being plenty old enough to take care of herself, and that she'd like to be alone for a little while. Alice had simply passed her the clothes she had prepared for her earlier and let her be.

The noise from upstairs was a crashing sound, and then what sounded like the shattering of glass. While she didn't really make a sound, there was an inhalation of breath before the smell came. As vampires, our senses were greatly enhanced, and even more so when the presence of fresh blood was near. While I took a moment – a microsecond, really – to worry about the very brother I had felt guilt over minutes before, I was up as soon as I realized who must have been hurt and outside the bathroom door in seconds. Carlisle, being the doctor who wanted to help everybody he was, had followed me closely. Esme was the only other who had followed, my siblings having registered something that our instincts – whether they be my mating instincts, Carlisle's medical instincts or Esme's motherly instincts – hadn't.

Her blood was not appetizing in the slightest. If anything, it smelled rather… rotten. Like the blood of a human that had long been dead.

I grew worried as I realized it as well, and quickly knocked. I heard a sigh of frustration come from behind it, as well as the tinkling of glass – she must have been trying to clean up whatever it was that had fallen.

"Bella, can we come in?" I asked quickly, wanting to see how badly she was hurt. It was killing me to know that I had allowed this to happen, even though I had had no control over the matter.

She sighed again, muttering something that even my advanced hearing could not quite pick out (I had the strange suspicion that it wasn't actually words, more gibberish) and bid us entrance.

"Oh my," Carlisle said upon entering.

And it was clear to see what he seemed so surprised about. The sight of her blood – it pained me to see the amount of it on the floor – matched the scent of it. It was dark in colour, much darker than oxygenated blood should be, and didn't seem fresh at all. Dead blood.

Carlisle made a fuss instantly, working to clean her up while Esme cleaned up the glass and blood that was on the floor, as well as the flowers and water; it had been a vase she had broken.

While we hadn't said a word, she huffed as she took note of our rather obvious fascination with the sight of her blood. "It's nothing special," she muttered. "It's been like that ever since I was changed."

Carlisle looked up at her with this new information. "Quite curious," he murmured, examining some of the blood that was still oozing from the wound. It was a deep slice in her palm, but luckily not deep enough to cause real damage. As I saw it closer through his thoughts, as the angle I was in left me with a poor view, I couldn't help but grab her other hand gently. She didn't seem to be in pain, though.

"Well I don't age," she began again, a little uncertainly this time. "I've never really thought about it, I guess, but if I don't age I guess I don't really need blood all that much? It's only really used in the regeneration and the growth of cells, isn't it?" At Carlisle's excited nod, she continued. "Well, my venom does that, so the blood is kind of useless. It might just be that that's making it an awful colour, though."

I tensed. "Venom?" I asked quietly, running my tongue over my teeth, tasting my own bitter venom.

She rolled her eyes. "Yea, that's how you become one of my kind, through venom. I thought, being a vampire, you'd be able to catch that right away. Although, I don't think it's quite like yours. From what I remember of vampire lore, you use the venom to incapacitate your victims, as well, but mine doesn't do anything like that. It just infects, and heals. Watch."

It became quite obvious what she wanted us to watch as the wound grew darker, an oddly clear black substance covering up the last traces of the strange blood. In seconds the wound was gone, and the black substance seemed to almost seep back into her skin, being reabsorbed by the newly healed cells. She smiled slightly, flexing her hand. "See? All gone."

With that she turned back to the sink, washed her hands – as I imagined she must have been doing before she had knocked the vase over – and shrugged while looking at us through the mirror. The hand that had previously been holding hers now rested gently in the crease of her elbow, and she made no move to shrug it off as I expected. She seemed bemused by our apparent awe, but made no comment of it.

"Do you suppose I could get anything to eat?"

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note:**__ First of all, whoops! Meant to have this out last night. Just realized that I hadn't updated, so sorry! But at least it's here, as promised._

_Secondly, I'm so sorry that this chapter is absolute shit. I don't like it, I am not happy with it, but I needed to get the blood thing out for a later chapter. This was the only way I could think of doing it, and I hate myself for actually posting this for you to read. Think of it as a filler chapter as the story really did not progress all that much. Ugh I hate this chapter so much._

_The poll about the idea of me posting the few, very short chapters I have of a _Before the Imprint_ story for LFW is still up on my profile. At the moment I am considering, when this story is done, just to add these chapters as outtakes after the final chapters and not make it a full story. We'll see what happens when I get there, I suppose._

_Now, I would like to take the moment to talk about a cause that I care deeply about. There is a charity in the UK called 'Comic Relief', and they have a fundraiser coming up called 'Red Nose Day'. This will occur on March 15__th__, 2013, and until then there are many ways you can help out. There are many different people that the money raised on Red Nose Day goes to help others, including going to help the children of Africa receive vaccinations from serious diseases that are killing them. These vaccinations only cost 5 pounds, which is the equivalent of 7.76 US dollars. For less than eight dollars, you can save a child's life. There are many ways you can help; one way is to text 'YES' to 70005. The text costs the 5 pounds needed to buy the vaccination, as well as the additional service charges by your cellphone company. Comic Relief asks that if you do this, ensure you have asked the permission of the bill payer. Another way to help out is by purchasing this year's Red Nose Day charity single, 'One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)' by One Direction, from iTunes. The song will be released in varying countries throughout the next few days and all the money will go towards the charity. The music video for the song is set to be released in five days. To find out more about Red Nose Day, there is a link on my profile to the website and the twitter page. There are many other ways you can assist the charity listed on the site, such as fundraising in your school and the like. It is a very worthy cause and if you can help out in anyway, it would be much appreciated by several people around the world. If you donate or work to raise money in any way, I am proud of you and thank you on behalf of those who need it. _

_Thank you for reading this, if you've made it this far. :)_

_Review, please, and remember me._


	11. The Past

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part Two: The Heat**

**Chapter Ten: The Past**

'_**Liberty for Wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_Sometimes it's easy to hide the cracks, the faults; the flaws that you feel must certainly be obvious, and yet nobody ever mentions them. And it's easier that way, with no one pointing out or mentioning things that you already feel bad about. It's all hidden, like a secret life; no one but you can ever drag up the memories and dot them with emotions like anger and sadness. In the end, it's these things that make you who you are. And nobody can ever change that._

_**LFW**_

_**Edward:**_

She was almost a mystery, but not quite. Bella had brought many interesting new ideas and thoughts into my family; we had never really pondered what else might be out there, at least, none of us but Carlisle had. He had spent decades with the Volturi, searching through all of their nearly infinite resources to soak up any knowledge he could. If only they had been more open-minded towards his choice to feed off of animals, he might still be there right now, pouring over old manuscripts and texts to learn more. He had a true never-ending search for knowledge.

Bella, while she wasn't quite fully comfortable with all of us (which was peculiar as her wolf-self had seemed quite content in our home), was settling in nicely and was very willing to answer any questions Carlisle or Jasper had, as long as they didn't cross any of her invisible borders. In a week's time, we had quickly learned that any mention of her family caused her to tense up and grow distant. Esme had once made the mistake of asking her if she wished to contact her family, and she didn't talk or move away from the window for hours afterwards. She did eventually apologize to Esme for snapping at her, mentioned that her family was a sensitive subject, and then reverted back into her quiet state. It took a few days for her to completely break out of it.

"Edward?" she called out from the other room; another thing I had learned was to give her space, instead of being constantly by her side like I wished. But, I was always nearby in case she called out.

I was by her side in a flash, causing her to flinch slightly, followed by her eyes crinkling up in a rather adorable smile. I chuckled. "Yes, love?"

Her smile faded a little at the term of endearment, her eyes searching my face, before brightening again. She motioned towards the light jacket she had in her arms; while it was still sunny out, the unnatural weather (for Forks, anyway) had all but left us, and the wind was starting to grow a little chilly again. "I thought we might go for a walk, just us two."

It was the first inclination she had had towards anything even remotely 'date-like', and I scooped it up. "That sounds great," I said quickly, not wanting to give her a chance to think of other plans. "I know a nice place in the forest we can go, but it's a bit of a trek."

She shook her head. "That's find, it sounds great." She walked passed me, and I stood there a moment, looking after her. Just before she left the room completely, she looked over her shoulder, smirking. "Well, come on then."

I finally moved, following after her down the stairs and out the door, letting my family – _our family_ – know that we would be back later. I helped her put the jacket on just before we entered the cool, shade of the woods.

We didn't speak much on the walk; she seemed to be thinking about something, and she would glance over at me every once in awhile, biting her lip. I thought she wanted to say something, but I held quiet, letting her speak at her own time.

Just as I was beginning to see the light that was what I had dubbed 'my meadow', she exhaled deeply, the soft tenor of her voice following gently after. "I have a younger sister, you know."

The topic threw me for a minute, but I was so eager for any information about her – even if it was about the family she seemed uncomfortable about – so I merely nodded and looked over at her. "Oh?"

"Yea," she practically breathed, biting her lip again, before looking forward decisively. "She's younger; well, technically. She's… twenty-one now, as of early April."

I didn't really know what she wanted me to say, so I said nothing. She didn't seem to be finished, anyway. And she wasn't.

"It may seem strange, but she was… my best friend. Just, absolutely the best little sister I could have ever asked for. She was sweet, and kind, and was always willing to help somebody out, despite mother saying to stay away from strangers. She loved the colour pink far too much, in my opinion, but that didn't stop me from helping her paint her room when she decided she wanted to do it all by herself. I remember she had picked this ghastly, sparkly bright pink colour that got _everywhere_. I was still washing the glitter out of my hair weeks later," she laughed slightly, sighing and shrugging. "But she loved it, and for weeks she would just sit in her room and smile at the walls, so I guess that made it all worth it."

She grew quiet again, and I spoke up. "What's her name?"

She smiled at me, and it was small and timid but definitely a real one. "Annie; her name's Annie. It's a funny a story, really," she chuckled again, "my parents let me name her; I mean, they had the final say, but I just really wanted to name her for some reason. I put up a fight about it for a long time, but I was finally allowed under the condition that if I picked, well, a stupid name, they could choose what she would be called." She shrugged. "I went along with it because I knew that whatever I thought up would be great. I couldn't think of anything, though, and eventually it was the day she was born and I was going to see her for the first time and I _still_ hadn't thought of a name. But, when I did see her, I just sort of _knew_. She had this bright red hair – it's darkened over the years – but back then all it reminded me of was Orphan Annie, from the musical. And my parents thought it was a nice enough name, so they put it on the birth certificate."

I smiled at her. "That's nice of your parents."

"Yea," she smiled, finally stepping into the meadow along with me, and looking around. "Wow, this is so nice."

"I found it while I was out hunting, the first time we lived here, back in the 30's. I was quite eager when we moved back a few years ago; I really missed this place."

"It's great," she said, sitting down in the middle of it and reaching up to pull on my shirt, bringing me down beside her. She began talking again almost right away. "My parents are nice people, Edward," she said seriously, looking right at me.

I shook my head, confused. "Okay?"

"They really are; my mom does charity work to raise money for starving children around the world, my dad runs a 'green' company that is slowly helping to save the environment. They're both just two, really great people. My sister is following in my dad's shoes; I think she's an intern at the company now, unless she's been promoted since I left…" she trailed off. "I'd imagine she'd have the job by now; Annie's so great with people, she makes you agree to things without even realizing it. Probably has several other businessmen eating out of the palm of her hand by now.

"Although, of course, I can't forget about Nicholas."

"Nicholas?" I asked, when she didn't seem like she was going to continue.

"Annie's husband; they got married two falls summers ago, when she was nineteen. Been together since she was sixteen. He's older than her, but only by two years, so it's okay. And you can just tell by the way he looks at her that he adores her. She was pregnant, last time I saw her… I'd imagine I'm an aunt now. I think it was due sometime in February."

"Congratulations," I said to her, thinking she'd be happy about the idea of being an aunt, though I knew that her having a big family to return to would complicate our relationship. She hadn't shown any want to return to wherever her family lived, but I knew she would want to go back eventually, at least just to visit.

"Thanks," she said quietly, and to my horror a tear fell from her eyes directly afterwards. My instincts to take care of my mate reared up quickly, and I reached for her hands, running my thumb over her knuckles gently.

"What's wrong?"

She blew out her breath noisily, rubbing at her face with her other hand roughly, seeming upset with herself about the tear. She swallowed heavily. "The baby… my niece or nephew… they won't ever know I exist, Edward."

I crinkled my brow. "Why not?"

"Because Annie told me to leave… she doesn't want her child growing up around something like me. It was one thing to have Nicholas know of what I was, but to have her child know? There was only so long I can play off my lack of aging as simply having good genes, but when my much-younger sister began to look like the eldest, people began to question it. And Annie didn't want her child growing up with that, to have people looking at her because she was related to me," she breathed deeply. "So she told me to leave, and not to come back; and my parents, they… they took her side."

"…That's terrible," I said quietly, wanting to get rid of her pain.

"Yea," she said, barely nodding in agreement. "But, you know, I understand; it's so weird to know that Annie is growing up. She's surpassed me now – I'll never turn nineteen, and now she's _twenty-one_. My little baby sister is all grown up with a husband, a kid, a career… and I still look eighteen. Not to mention I turn into a frickin' wolf when the weather starts getting cold. Who would want their kid around that?"

I moved closer, switching the hand I was holding to my other one and using my now free hand to rub her back gently. It hurt me deeply to hear about what had happened to her, what her _family_ had done to her, and it hurt even more to realize that I could understand, too. My family, being vampires, had always avoided the humans, wishing to keep them safe from our secret and the eventual wrath of the Volturi. We wanted the humans around us not to become attached because we were different, and we could never stay in place for too long. This was a case of what had happened in the eighties, when Emmett had made friends with a teenage boy and had then had to live with leaving him behind so that he could live a normal life. While we had left for this boy's own good, as well as the others in the town, it still hurt to know what we were leaving behind. I could only imagine how Bella must feel, loving her family but knowing she had to leave them, and having them tell her she had to.

She sighed again, rubbing her eyes and leaning back into me. "But they're good people," she said again, that same serious tone in her voice. "They just want what's best for the kid, and I can see that having a werewolf for an aunt isn't exactly what would qualify as something healthy." She leaned into me more firmly, and I wrapped my arm around her, squeezing her in comfort. "At least I have you now, though, so I'm not totally alone."

I squeezed again, smiling into her hair as I dropped a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "You'll never be alone, Bella; not if I have anything to say about it."

"Thanks."

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note: NEW UPDATE SCHEDULE: **__I will not be updating every Tuesday and Friday, just so that I can have a little bit more time to edit the chapters I write for you guys. I know, today is Wednesday, but if you could see the snow we got yesterday you would understand why I didn't have enough time to write. Also got a bit of the flu, but I'm all better now! So, just to be clear, the next update will be on Friday, and then the Tuesday/Friday schedule will begin next week._

_Now, what did you think of Bella's story? It would be hard, I imagine, having to leave behind someone you care about like that. She's certainly strong, to be able to though. And Edward's such a sweetheart about it. _

_Also, if you wish to help out the UK charity Comic Relief, the Red Nose Day single 'One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)' by One Direction is now available on iTunes in several countries! Just search for it in the iTunes store to see if it's available in yours; the song on its own only costs $1.29 (as seen in the Canadian iTunes store), however there is two other versions of the song on the single's album for a full price of $2.99. In my opinion, the song is absolutely fantastic. The official music video was just released as well over on the OneDirectionVEVO channel; it's brilliant, if I do say so myself, but maybe that's only because I happen to be a One Direction fan. If you wish to help out in other ways, there are links to the Comic Relief and Red Nose Day websites, as well as the official Red Nose Day twitter, on my profile page. There are many different ways you can help out, and all of it would be appreciated._

_Review, please, and remember me._


	12. The Hunt

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part Two: The Heat**

**Chapter Eleven: The Hunt**

'_**Liberty for Wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_It gets hard to be alone sometimes; but when you're a monster to everyone around you, a menace, a danger, you learn to live with it._

_**LFW**_

_**Edward:**_

Bella seemed to be settling in nicely; as the weeks went by, she grew closer to everyone, in particular Esme. As us 'children' needed to continue attending school in order to keep up appearances, and Carlisle had a responsibility to the hospital to continue working, Bella and Esme were left with a lot of time together. After the first few days, which ended with my return to the house to find an awkward tension filling the air, the wall that was between them seemed to break. Soon it was easy to see that they were best friends; Esme had been turned at the age of twenty-six, and so remained pretty set in the mind-frame she had had at that time. Similarly, Bella was actually thirty, no matter what age she looked. They were able to get on, filling in the differences with similarities.

Now that the topic had been breached, Bella spoke of her family a lot – well, her sister anyway. It was clear from the way she would gaze off sometimes that Bella adored Annie. Likewise, Esme found the topic fascinating, and was always asking questions about the girl; questions that Bella was all too eager to answer. It was almost as if Bella was speaking of her own child, and not her sister, and this manner of speaking was what drew Rosalie in. It was odd to see the sister that I was most often at odds with get so close with my imprint. I was glad, though; I had always worried that when I met the one for me that Rosalie wouldn't get on with them, and now I can see that my worries were for not. It was a great relief.

Her thoughts and emotions, as well as her future, never became clearer, though. Her mind was silent, her feelings muffled, and her future fuzzy. It often gave Alice a headache, trying to look through what she called 'the fog', but she, too, was glad for another sister. She was especially glad as this new sibling completed our family; while we wouldn't forbid anyone from joining us in the future, we would not be creating any more vampires. In any case, we had signed the treaty with the Quileutes that prevented us from doing exactly that, unless we wished to start a war.

Bella found the topic of the Quileute wolf pack fascinating. She had quickly deduced, from just a few short details, that they were nowhere near the same species as her, but they were still close, being wolves. She had expressed a desire to meet them, but had agreed not to approach their land when told of the treaty. While she wasn't technically of an unwanted species, there was no way of telling how the wolves would react to an odd-smelling human who was also covered in the scent of our family. Alice had been the most vocal on the subject, as while Bella's future was blurry, the Quileutes were completely blank. She was worried that if Bella were to go and visit the wolves, something would happen that she would be unable to see.

It made me happy to know that my family cared about my imprint so much that they were adamant that she not put herself in any danger.

But, while I was trying my hardest to be with her as often as possible between the school days, there were some things that I couldn't avoid. One of these was hunting. If I waited too long before going out to hunt, I might attack someone. It took Alice showing me a vision of me doing just that that made me realize it had been nearly a month since I had hunted. I also knew now that Angela from my history class was going to get a paper cut next week, so at least I would be holding my breath then.

Bella seemed quite okay with us going; Esme had hunted only a week ago and so was remaining behind. As they were practically best friends now, this left Bella quite glad with the option of remaining behind, and in any case she wasn't particularly in the mood to watch us devour creatures of the forest. So, leaving them behind, the rest of us set out to go and drink our fill of blood.

Jasper noticed it first. "There's some kind of odd scent trail over here," he said worriedly, glancing over at Alice every few moments or so. She immediately looked ahead, but just as it always was with Bella around, the future was all blurry. She crinkled her eyebrows.

"We're still too close to the house, I guess," she muttered. "I still can't see anything past Bella."

We deliberated for a moment, but eventually decided that our best course of action was to follow the scent. There were six of us after all, and whatever it was there was only one of, so we were sure we could easily beat it.

Oddly enough, I found myself experiencing a case of déjà vu as we approached the owner of the scent. It was getting stronger, and I realized quickly that the way we were going was towards the place that I had found Bella months ago in the middle of that storm. Once I realized this, I stopped, recognizing the scent – well, at least a little.

"It smells like Bella."

My family hadn't noticed I had stopped, and so had to turn around to come back to me when they heard what I said. "What?" Emmett said, having reached me first.

"The scent," I explained. "It kind of smells like Bella… except, younger, somehow."

As they took it in, I noticed them come to the same conclusion. When she wasn't bleeding, Bella didn't have the same scent her oddly-rotten blood had, but it certainly wasn't wholly pleasant – well, to the others anyway. I thought she smelled nice. This scent was the same; not quite human, not quite unappealing animal.

We hesitated for another moment, before continuing to move along the trail, though this time slower. It was only moments before we reached the same small clearing I had found my imprint in. The girl was in the middle of it.

She was tiny – no more than a child, really – and had bright, fiery red hair. She was quite pale, and dirty. Her eyes were closed and so I couldn't see what they looked like, but something told me they would be the same colour as Bella's. She was only wearing a small, faded and torn shirt with pants that were in the same condition. She was lying down, clearly asleep, and just beside where her right hand lay was a small bag that was closed tightly.

She woke up as Alice took the first step into the clearing, her instincts clearly flaring to life. Her eyes snapped open, confirming my theory on the colour; it was odd to see what were essentially my imprint's eyes placed on somebody else's face. She stood up as if strings were controlling her, bending slightly into a crouch as if she were prepared to attack. In another moment, she gained full control over herself enough to test out the air.

It was almost comical, the way she relaxed. Her eyes widened, flickering over each of us, before stopping on me. She took a step forward, focused on me, her gaze narrowing as she took another sniff at the air. From her body language, I thought she smelled something on me.

She took another step forward, and when she spoke, her voice rang throughout the clearing, clear as a bell. "What have you done with Bella?"

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note: **__So, first things first, this story has just hit 200 reviews! I would like to thank all of you for reviewing, and I ask that you please continue to do so! I really appreciate everything you have to say, even if it's simply 'good' or 'nice' or whatever. Also reminder, I will now be updating every Tuesday and Friday as opposed to every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday._

_So, who is this new character? If someone guesses correctly they get a prize in the form of outside information about the story, such as information about Bella's family that won't be revealed in any of the chapters!_

_Also, if you wish to help out the UK charity Comic Relief, the Red Nose Day single 'One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)' by One Direction is now available on iTunes in several countries! Just search for it in the iTunes store to see if it's available in yours; the song on its own only costs $1.29 (as seen in the Canadian iTunes store), however there is two other versions of the song on the single's album for a full price of $2.99. In my opinion, the song is absolutely fantastic. The official music video was just released as well over on the OneDirectionVEVO channel; it's brilliant, if I do say so myself, but maybe that's only because I happen to be a One Direction fan. If you wish to help out in other ways, there are links to the Comic Relief and Red Nose Day websites, as well as the official Red Nose Day twitter, on my profile page. There are many different ways you can help out, and all of it would be appreciated._

_Review, please, and remember me._


	13. The Reunion

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part Two: The Heat**

**Chapter Twelve: The Reunion**

'_**Liberty for Wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_Sometimes you need to understand that even if your greatest longing is to find someone to love, they may never love you back._

_**LFW**_

_**Edward:**_

The girl's pose had quickly become hostile. She was clearly accusing us of something. Glancing over the minds of my family, it was clear they had connected the obvious similarities between her and Bella. The eyes, while appearing to be much more closed off than my imprint's, were the same precise hew of golden-brown. Her figure, whilst she was clearly still a child, was lithe and lightly muscled. I could tell that she had great strength hidden beneath her skin.

She bared her teeth, taking a step towards us. "I said," she snarled, "what have you done with Bella?"

It was almost comical hearing such a menacing voice coming from a child.

Carlisle, ever the peacekeeper, was first to take the bait. "Bella is fine," he soothed. "She is back at our home."

His words caused the mysterious girl to pause, her lips moving to cover her teeth again. She grew silent.

"I can't hear her," I murmured, loud enough that only Jasper could hear me. He knew I was asking a question, and shook his head briefly; he could not sense her, either.

Her eyes darted over all of us, pausing once again on me. She took another quick sniff of the air, before crouching into a lower position. "You lie," she hissed. "You have touched her."

"Bella has been living with us for quite awhile, now," Carlisle added, his voice ever more soothing. "It is perfectly natural that you can sense her presence on us. We have not harmed her. She is perfectly safe."

The child's nostrils flared. She didn't straighten out, and though I could not hear even a whisper, it was obvious that she was thinking over Carlisle's words.

"You are welcome to come back with us," Esme said, stepping forward. "I'm… sure Bella would love to see you."

Her eyes darted around quickly, taking us each in, before she finally – though with great caution – moved upwards. She ran her hands over her face and hair, moving it out of the way. Her nails were long, unkempt and filthy, her hands and fingers raw and torn from what was evidently a long time spent in the forest. Years and years, perhaps…

I was beginning to think that I knew her; well, knew of her.

The girl nodded, staring wide-eyed at Esme as if doubting that her invitation was sincere. It seemed that now that she might have a chance to see Bella, her mood had brightened.

Esme smiled. "Come on, dear; our house is just a little while through the forest. Will you be able to keep up if we run?"

Her eyes gleamed at the challenge, and for the first time since we saw her, she appeared to smile. "Of course I can."

_**LFW**_

The trip back to the house was quick; the girl was fast, faster than Bella had shown us she could run, and she derived much joy from the speed. For the most part she ran beside Alice, who – though clearly older – was about the same size as the child, and thus not as threatening as running beside Emmett would have been.

Her scent seemed to grow more noticeable as she ran; heat and energy pouring off of her as her pulse and breathing quickened, her eyes sharpening to an even brighter form of gold. She seemed wilder, more untamed. While before she had seemed merely like a lost child who hadn't been clean in far too long, now she seemed like she belonged in the forest, like she owned it.

Bella sometimes had the same look as well, and if I had ever had any doubts about who she was, then I didn't now. I could remember when Bella has spoke about her, when she was just the same, a child found in the woods…

Bella was sitting on the porch as we approached. I put an added boost into my legs, and breached the tree line long before my family and the guest. My Puppy smiled at me, breathtaking as always, as she glance towards me.

I was beside her in seconds, soaking up her warmth, her light, her scent. Reassuring myself that she was fine.

She noticed. "Edward, what-" She cut herself off, noticing the others arriving. I could tell the exact moment that she saw the child.

Bella stood instantly, her arm knocking into my side at the rushed movement. Her eyes were wide with surprise, her mouth falling slightly open as she exhaled sharply.

The child smiled, and this time it was definitely a real one. Her eyes were wide, as well, seeming to take in the way that Bella looked; clean, and warm, and healthy. She took a step towards us, my family remaining where they were, observing.

Bella took a hurried step back. "Victoria," she said quietly, an odd warning in her tone. "What are you _doing _here?"

The girl paused, taken aback. "Winter is over," she said simply, confused. "I've come to get you."

_**LFW**_

_**bella:**_

_she can't be here. victoria can't be here. how did she find me? i'm so far away from oregon, so far away from my normal winter territory. _

_do _they_ know where i am? _

_i think she could sense my thoughts. she always had a way of doing that, my sire. where my mind is silent to edward, she knew me inside and out, my wishes, my deepest fears, everything._

_could she sense now how much i wished to stay here, to never return? i didn't need to now, anyway. werewolf or not, edward was my mate. mated wolves didn't need to return. it wasn't necessary anymore. i'm _free_._

_victoria's eyes sharpened in a way i knew all too well. "bella," she said quietly, sternly. i could see the way her eyes looked over my position, how close I was to edward. "what have you done?"_

_i shuttered. it must have looked odd, to the others. seeing an adult woman so clearly afraid of a small child. but they didn't understand her strength, her power. she had turned me, and then saved me; i owe a lot to her._

_but, i owe even more to these vampires, my mate and his family. they saved me in a completely different way. _

_i took in a deep breath, steadying myself. "i'm staying here, victoria. i no longer have a reason to report to the council."_

_she understood. i knew she did; how could she not, with the way his arms were holding me against his side? how could she not with the way i was clearly comfortable with his touch, in a way i never was before?_

_a flash of her teeth. a silent snarl that i could hear so easily in my mind, memories of all the times i had heard it before. "you know that _I_ will need to report this then." _

_she disapproved of him, i could tell. he wasn't one of us. i had spent years doing what she told me to do, what _they_ told me to do, in hopes that when winter next came i wouldn't be alone. but i always was, until he found me._

_i nodded to her. she would need to report this, and whatever the result was i would face it when it came._

_she left quickly, then, one last angry searching glance sent towards me before she took off. i could feel the confusion of the others as i unwrapped myself from _his_ embrace, and smiled at him, before retiring to my room. _

_i would need to think about what this might mean._

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note:**__ well, as promised, here's the next chapter!_

_Let me tell you, this was absolutely brutal to type out. I'm sure that it's terrible and possibly contradicts some part of the story that I wrote before. If there are any errors, whether they be plot errors or grammar/spelling errors that you guys find in this chapter, please let me know and I will try to fix it._

_Other than that, the next chapters will be posted on September 26, 2014._

_Review, please, and remember me._


	14. The Enemy

**Liberty for Wolves**

**Part Two: The Heat**

**Chapter Thirteen: The Enemy**

'_**Liberty for Wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin**_

_**LFW**_

_If there is only one truth to be found in the history of mankind, it is that power corrupts._

_**LFW**_

_**Victoria, Third Person:**_

_Victoria didn't think she had ever run so quickly. She was desperate to reach the Forest before nightfall, to tell the others about what she had learned._

_How could Bella have betrayed them like that? It was one thing to be late to council – that was fine. There wasn't really a set time when council would begin, as long as it was before June. But the beginning of June had come and gone, and Bella hadn't showed up. And the clan grew angry._

_Victoria had put her own neck on the line by volunteering to go and find her. An unmated wolf that didn't report to council after winter was considered a lone wolf, something that nobody wanted anything to do with. Lone wolves were enemies of the council, and with the number of these enemies having increased greatly in recent years, the council was considering putting a mark on these wolves._

_Essentially, if you are considered a lone wolf, any member of the clan has permission to hunt and kill you for treason against the council._

_So _of course_ Victoria had spoken up about it and asked the council for the chance to go and find her. Bella was young, she'd said. She still hasn't learned how to control the shift properly. Perhaps she hadn't even made the return yet, and she was still stuck in a forest somewhere, lost in her wolf form. This had happened to a young wolf years before, back when Victoria herself was young; the poor thing was found in mid August by a clan member, stuck halfway between human and wolf. They had become trapped and had then tried to force the return. The council had ended up having the end their suffering._

_A wolf that couldn't make the return before the great heat of summer suffered greatly. _

_The council had granted her permission to leave and find her ward, and she had left quickly. She would have never admitted it to another member of the clan, but she was afraid that something had happened to Bella. Ever since the girl had tried to help her during one of her turns, and she had repaid her by attacking her, she had been very protective of her. She had thought, then, that she had killed the human. Not many of them were strong enough to survive the change. Having your DNA torn apart and reconstructed is quite a painful process._

_So, when she had returned to the Oregon forests a few winters after the attack, she hadn't expected to find that the human _had_ survived and was, well, no longer human. When you turn a wolf, whether it was planned or not, they become your responsibility. So Victoria took Bella under her wing – or, well, paws._

_And Bella was so well behaved. Her induction into the clan was smooth, and she always followed all of the council's rules. That's why it was so difficult for Victoria to believe that Bella had broken them this time – she must have been in some sort of trouble._

_It had taken Victoria only a few days to return to Oregon and hunt down Bella's faded scent from winter. She hadn't been there very long after the shift, only a few days. It had taken even longer for her to follow her trail when it headed towards the ocean. It was only because she knew the scent so well, having known Bella for so long – having _turned _her – that she didn't lose it entirely._

_She had travelled north for days before she had found herself in a forest rich with Bella's scent. And then she had come across the vampires and they too were rich with Bella's scent._

_She was certain that they had harmed Bella. Or worse, _eaten_ her. Why else would a coven of vampires smell so much like her ward? Werewolves weren't allowed to consort with vampires. It was one of the basic rules of the council. They were our opposites. They were dead, and cold, while the heart of the wolves went on beating. While there were small packs, every wolf – well, most of them – were part of the clan and the rules were always, always followed. Vampires made their own rules. The pathetic excuses for leaders, those Italians, were nothing compared to the elegant council of the clan. They were inferior, unthinking killers._

_But they hadn't hurt Bella. Instead, they had brought Victoria back to visit Bella, as if it were perfectly normal for vampires to invite a werewolf to their home. As if it were perfectly normal for a werewolf to be _living_ in a vampire's home. It was unnatural, but she had been excited. If they were telling the truth, if Bella _was_ unharmed, then they would be able to reach the council in mere days. There would be no serious consequences. They could just say that there was an unknown coven in Washington, and that they had returned to the council with information. They would be thanked, not punished!_

_Victoria snarled as she ran ever closer to the Forest. _Of course it didn't work out that way_, she thought. _When has anything ever worked out for me?

_Bella was mated to that… that thing. How she could even stand the smell, Victoria didn't know. But it was clear in the way that the she wolf had shifted her body towards the redhead that she was more than comfortable in his presence. And she could see in the way that the vampire had looked at her, as if…_

_Victoria slid to a halt, panting, thinking. It wasn't possible…. It defied all laws of nature…_

_While the council, through their strict instructions, had managed to keep the Italian vampires, and thus their followers, from discovering the clan, the wolves had endless knowledge about vampires. They had studied them, and learned much about the greatest threat to their existence. It paid to know everything there was to know about your enemies, while they knew nothing about you. And thus the concept of vampire mating was well known._

_Imprinting, that's what it was called. When a vampire finds their mate, they are instantly bonded to them. It's unbreakable, and sometimes unwanted on both parts. But the vampire has no control over it, and it's often hard for the imprint to resist that kind of undying devotion._

_And that's what the redheaded vampire had looked at Bella like. Like she was his _world_. Victoria had met other vampires, and they had all looked at their mates like that. While wolves don't like vampires, their way of mating was always a topic of envy. There would be no separation for these mated couples; the imprint made sure there was no way of them ever wanting someone else. There were many wolves that had left their mates, whether to find new mates or to remain alone. Victoria herself had been left, years ago…_

_He had imprinted on Bella. It made sense to her now, why she had then chosen the vampire. He would never leave her._

_Victoria sat down, resting against a tree. She wouldn't go to the council, then. She would let her ward be happy. But she still needed to let somebody know, to have somebody tell her that she was doing the right thing. This could be seen as defying the council, in a way. Would it be worth it?_

_And then she smiled. She knew just the person to go and see. And Laurent lived just on the edges of the Forest, so we were nearly there. _

_She started running._

_**LFW**_

_**Author's note: **__so, as I'm sure you can tell, this is _sort of_ a filler. But I thought it would be kind of interesting for you to learn more about the wolves, especially since the council was mentioned in the last chapter but was never really explained. Hopefully you enjoyed this._

_It was much easier to write this chapter than it was the write the last one. I think I'm getting the hang of this stuff, again! As of right now I do not know when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully it will be up by Friday (October 3, 2014)! I quite like this 'updating on Friday' thing. And again, I'm hoping to have this finished by Christmas, maybe before! I don't think it will be many more chapters; I'll probably stop at around 20._

_Anyways…_

_Review, please, and remember me._


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